He report For all humanity – the future of outer space governancepublished this week, contains a series of recommendations on the opportunities and risks of space exploitation, on the eve of the Summit of the Future of 2024. The document examines the changes that are taking place in it and the consequences of this evolution in areas such as sustainability, security and governance.
“Emerging risks, derived from the increased congestion of low earth orbit and competition in space, must be addressed in a concerted manner with all the various instances that currently explore and use it, while maintaining the leadership of States in intergovernmental processes”, declares the General secretary of the UN in the foreword of the report.
António Guterres added that “States agreed that outer space should be explored and used with peaceful purposes and for the benefit of all and they also recognized the need to find ways to strengthen global governance”.
More than a million satellites in 2030
The report explains that the number of satellites launched into space remained stable between 1957 and 2012, averaging 150 each year. However, as of 2013, the number has increased to reach a total of 2,470 in 2022.
The development of new technologies has allowed the reduction of the costs of launching objects into space, which in turn has encouraged the participation of the private sector; Thanks to this, the number of satellites registered with the International Telecommunication Union has reached 1.7 million, which will be able to be put into orbit until the beginning of 2030.
On the other hand, the number of private missions planned for communications, resource-related activities, space tourism and scientific research is increasing rapidly.
The report also highlights that manned missions to deep space will return in the face of commitments by countries such as the United States, China and the Russian Federation. In addition, nations in Europe, India, and Japan are developing space vehicles capable of transporting humans.
In this context, the Secretary General advocates the development of governance that enables innovation and in turn promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Opportunities
Communications satellites are critical to the earth observation. The data and images they provide allow scientists to establish the basis for energy and climate policies. In addition, they serve to track deforestation, monitor protected areas against hunting and poaching, and assess changes in biodiversity; and to monitor natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes and respond to them.
On the other hand, the report highlights the potential of satellite communication to connect communities that until now have remained isolated to the Internet, as well as the possibilities offered by global navigation systems by satellite of aircraft, ships, automobiles and other transportation systems for the global logistics chain and for economic development.
Third, research and science experiments in orbit they have enabled numerous advances in fields such as biology, materials science, hydrology and drug development.
challenges
According to the report, the opportunities of outer space come with risks if either a unified space sustainability regime or new governance frameworks between states are not established.
For example, given the exponential increase in the number of satellites, a better traffic coordination and the establishment of an international platform to monitor accident and collision risks and mitigate their consequences.
In addition, for the moment there is no international mechanism or body that monitors the space debris or facilitate its removal. “One of the main associated problems, apart from the volume of the objects, is their speed. Objects as small as a paint chip, traveling at more than 28,000 km per hour, can cause significant damage to spacecraft,” the report highlights.
There is also no international framework to regulate the exploration and exploitation of space resources. “There are abundant minerals on the Moon, such as helium-3, that are rare on Earth, which gives rise to large economic incentives for its exploitation. Similarly, asteroids in our solar system contain valuable metals, such as platinum, nickel, and cobalt,” the report explains. These incentives carry a potential risk of conflict, so a consensus on governance is needed.
This international framework would also serve to prevent the placement of weapons in space and the military confrontation, which if extended off-planet “would considerably increase the potential for space debris and the danger to critical civilian infrastructure.”
current governance
The creation of new legal frameworks could be facilitated by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Spacefounded by the Member States of the United Nations in 1959, and which has been in charge of legislating since then on issues such as exploration, the rescue of astronauts, liability related to objects and their registration, the prohibition of nuclear weapons tests in space and provisions relating to radio frequencies.
